


Meet the Family

by hokay



Series: TRC & CDTH Tumblr Prompts/Snippets [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fighting, M/M, Swearing, blood warning, originally on Tumblr, the usual Lynch things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24119251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hokay/pseuds/hokay
Summary: “May I just say, sir,” Declan says smoothly, swiftly unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes focus on his task until he’s finished and then those cold blue eyes zero in on Robert Parrish once more.“On behalf of the Lynch family,” he steps into Robert’s space, matching him inch for inch, “fuck you.”
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: TRC & CDTH Tumblr Prompts/Snippets [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740304
Comments: 35
Kudos: 303





	Meet the Family

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on Tumblr but I thought it would be nice for all my writing to be in one place, so here we go! 
> 
> Declan Lynch is everything. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Adam is, impossibly, at a gas station when he sees his father for the first time in five years. 

There are some things his life with Ronan has managed to dull, like flinching at loud noises and dodging when something moves too quickly in his peripheral. It’s taken time and effort but he’s managed to build a life for himself that isn’t ruled by Spartan necessity and fear. He’s more his own person now that he’s with Ronan than he ever was when he held himself apart, and he trusts that. 

Some things, however, can’t be forgotten. He’ll never hear out of his left ear again. Bones that healed wrong still ache when it rains. Sometimes he wakes up crying and all Ronan can do is hold him until the trembling stops. The quiet, persistent fear in the back of his mind that he’ll one day become his father (that they both will become their fathers) if they aren’t vigilant. 

It’s that vigilance now that makes him put the water bottle he’s holding back in the case and walk neatly out of the store, back to where Ronan is pumping gas. 

There’s a dull buzzing at the back of his mind. He’s not sure when it started, all he knows is that he can see Ronan’s mouth forming his name but he can’t hear a word. 

He reaches for Ronan at the same time Ronan reaches for him, trying not to appear frantic and failing miserably. 

“We have to go,” he croaks. “Ronan, we have to-”

“Hey!” 

Ronan’s eyes fly over his shoulder and his whole face goes to stone. This is what Adam had been afraid of - not his father, sullen and just as surprised as he was, but Ronan’s reaction. Ronan, who would happily go to the dirt for Adam one hundred times because he loved him. There was a difference, Adam had learned, between violence to contain and violence to protect. Robert Parrish was a lesson in suppression; Ronan Lynch was a masterpiece of armor and safekeeping. 

Adam turns, wary, to greet his father head-on when he catches movement out of the corner of his eye. His stomach drops. 

Declan Lynch is unfolding himself from the back seat of the BMW. He and Adam had flown into town together, both to see Ronan for very different reasons. Adam hadn’t seen any reason not to travel back with Declan, except that Ronan had insisted on driving Adam back to maximize their time together. The only conflict Adam had foreseen for this road trip had been Declan and Ronan bickering over the aux cord; this is so much worse.

“You too good to look at me when I’m talking to you?” Adam’s father spits. Declan looks from Adam to Ronan, to Adam’s father and it all clicks in a single, horrifying moment. Adam watches as Declan cocks one perfect, dark eyebrow.

“Robert Parrish?” Declan has that look about him like he’s meeting another boring Congressman at another boring fundraiser. Behind Adam, Ronan shifts his weight uneasily, stepping forward to try to shield Adam with his body. 

Parrish’s lip curls as he takes in Declan’s immaculate gray slacks, blue Oxford shirt, and carefully coiffed hair. “Yeah?” 

Declan’s brows lower as the corner of his mouth quirks up. A shiver trickles down Adam’s spine. He’s seen that look on Ronan’s face many times; that look on a Lynch face means trouble. Next to Adam, Ronan grunts, a low, pleased sound. Adam watches, distantly horrified, as Ronan moves to stand in front of his brother. They’re both standing between Adam and his father, broad-shouldered and unmoving.

Adam thinks of the times he’s seen Ronan and Declan gear up for a fight (usually with each other). This is not two men about to engage in battle; this is pack hunting at its finest. 

“May I just say, sir,” Declan says smoothly, swiftly unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes focus on his task until he’s finished and then those cold blue eyes zero in on Robert Parrish once more. “On behalf of the Lynch family,” he steps into Robert’s space, matching him inch for inch, “fuck you.” He grabs Robert by the collar with his left hand, right hand pulling back to make a fist that comes forward with a resounding _pop_ , connecting solidly with Parrish’s cheekbone.

Parrish reels back - or tries to - but Declan has a vice grip on his shirt and shakes him soundly. He roars and comes forward but Declan dances away with a boxer’s grace. A boxer with the ruthlessness of a seasoned street fighter. Distantly, Adam thinks that one doesn’t survive fighting Ronan for most of one’s childhood without knowing some dirty tricks. Declan comes back again and gets Parrish square in the nose. Blood flies. 

Hell hath no fury like a Lynch. 

Adam can see the gas station attendant watching through the massive window that makes up the storefront. He holds up his hand, a silent plea. _Wait_. 

Time stands still when Parrish’s fist comes up and connects with Declan’s mouth, splitting his lip and sending Declan swearing. Ronan catches his brother, steadying him before he steps forward, feral grin firmly in place. 

“We’ve done this before, old man,” Ronan spits. “Happy to do it again.” 

And this is what Adam was afraid of. He jumps forward, hand on Ronan’s shoulder. “He’s leaving, Ro,” Adam says, looking square at his father. His nose is bleeding and his cheek is red where a black eye is starting to form, but his eyes are full of malice when he looks at Adam. 

“You and I have nothing to say to each other,” Adam says quietly. “Now, the gas station attendant will no doubt be calling the police, so I suggest you leave before I remind them of the terms of our legal agreement.” Adam feels taller than he has in years, knowing that he could stand alone against his father but can choose not to. 

After a moment, Robert Parrish turns to leave and Adam lets out a shaky breath as his father climbs into his pickup and tears out of the gas station parking lot. 

Adam turns to look at Declan leaning against the BMW’s bumper, lip bleeding freely. Ronan has the nerve to look proud; Adam is aghast. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” 

“Adam,” Declan grins through bloody teeth. “You’re family. You didn’t think I was gonna let that asshole get a word in, seriously?” 

Adam’s cheeks instantly get hot and he looks to Ronan for some kind of help; he hadn’t realized that Ronan and Declan had discussed him to that extent. Then again, it makes sense that Declan would know about the fight that almost put Ronan in jail. He would have dug in until he learned exactly how it pertained to Adam. 

“We should get back on the road. You’ve got blood on your shirt.” He points to Declan’s collar and Declan pulls the shirt away from his body to look. His long-suffering sigh is comical for the fact that he put the blood there himself. 

Ronan, surprisingly, claps his brother on the shoulder before he puts the gas nozzle back on its hook and replaces the BMW’s gas cap. “Almost forgot you had it in you, D,” he says sarcastically. Declan rolls his eyes and holds up his middle finger but there’s a small smile playing around his mouth when he folds back into the BMW. 

Shaking his head, Adam climbs into the car and wonders at the loyalty of Lynches. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [Tumblr](pastelle-pvnk.tumblr.com)!


End file.
